After the terms were agreed upon, it was time to talk about payment. Without money, Committee Member Sun and the others would not lift a finger.
“Comrade Lu, we can help you accomplish everything you’ve requested. Now, take a look at this.” Committee Member Sun made a counting-money gesture.
“Thirty small gold ingots and fifty thousand in cash. How does that sound?” Lu Qingqing asked.
Looking at the treasures inside her space, this money meant nothing to her—it was just scraps provided by her enemies.
The corner of Committee Member Sun’s brow twitched. As expected of a red capitalist family—truly wealthy and generous.
But business was business; it was always about high asking prices and negotiated settlements. Without some back-and-forth, he would feel he was at a loss.
“Comrade Lu,” he said with a troubled expression, “you’re indeed offering quite a lot. But you also know the current situation.”
“There are many people watching your family, and many watching us as well.”
“Not all of this money ends up in our hands. We also need to make arrangements above and below, otherwise this matter won’t be easy to handle.”
Seeing Lu Qingqing nod in agreement, Committee Member Sun thought to himself: *Is this girl too naive? Why is she nodding so earnestly?*
If private business were allowed, she’d probably lose the entire Lu family fortune.
Watching her sincere expression, he even felt a bit guilty.
But the price still had to go up—he had a family to support as well.
After some exaggerated hardship acting, Committee Member Sun received strong agreement from her. Her approving expression nearly made it impossible for him to continue his performance.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he doubled the price. He originally thought she would bargain, but unexpectedly, she agreed immediately.
“Committee Member Sun, I accept everything you’ve said. When can my family be released?” she asked.
“Wait a moment, I’ll go check,” he said, and hurried out of the office.
He returned quickly with a key in hand.
“This is the key. Deliver the goods to No. 18 Yuying Alley. Once the payment is confirmed, your family will be released this afternoon.”
“Deal.” Lu Qingqing took the key and stood up to leave. As if suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Should I return the key to you later?”
“No need. Just throw it into the courtyard,” Committee Member Sun replied, taking out a spare key. “We have a backup.”
“After you place the goods, just rotate the stone pillar at the entrance.”
Lu Qingqing nodded firmly as if remembering everything, then left the Revolutionary Committee in a hurry.
On the way home, she noticed no one was following her, which satisfied her—this Committee Member Sun did things properly.
When she arrived home, the watchers outside her courtyard were also gone, likely after hearing about Zhang Shan’s capture.
The Revolutionary Committee’s information network really was fast.
Entering through the front gate and exiting through the back, she took a long detour. After confirming no one was following her, she retrieved thirty small gold ingots and one hundred thousand in cash from her space and walked toward Yuying Alley.
As soon as she entered the alley, she felt people observing her, but she didn’t care. She calmly opened the gate of No. 18 and walked in.
She placed the goods at the designated spot, locked the door, tossed the key away, and rotated the stone pillar before leaving gracefully.
She didn’t worry about being double-crossed by Committee Member Sun—after all, she had her spatial ability. If anything happened, dealing with them would be easy.
Not long after she left, someone entered No. 18 and took away the bundle she left behind.
Committee Member Sun quickly received confirmation that the money had arrived and leaned toward Deputy Director Huang, whispering:
“The Lu family is really wealthy. They handed it over so quickly.”
“That’s right,” Deputy Director Huang replied. “You should ask around about their background. On the surface, the Gu family is the richest—known as ‘Gu Half City.’”
“But in reality, the Lu family is the real big fish. Just the materials they donated were reportedly twice the Gu family’s entire fortune.”
“Really?” Committee Member Sun showed an ignorant expression. The name Gu Half City was something he had grown up hearing.
In the southern city, everyone knew the Gu family’s reputation. Of course, they were also among the first to be targeted.
No one knew if any of the Gu family were still alive.
“Of course it’s true,” Deputy Director Huang said. “Otherwise, why do you think the Lu family is called a red capitalist family? And why has no one touched them for so long?”
“Is it because no one dares? Or because no one wants to?”
“It’s because they can’t move them.”
“Then what’s the reality?” Committee Member Sun asked in confusion.
“I heard the person who used to protect the Lu family passed away. Those people thought the Lu family had lost their backing, so this happened.”
Deputy Director Huang sneered. “But they didn’t expect that even a dying camel is bigger than a horse. The moment the Lu family was taken in, trouble already started hitting their people first.”
Committee Member Sun thought about it and agreed. Those people probably didn’t expect Zhang Shan to fall so quickly—arresting someone one moment and getting revenge the next.
Now that the Lu family was still willing to pay to settle things, they actually seemed quite reasonable.
Deputy Director Huang quickly filled out a form and brought it to the director’s office. Under Director Xu’s confused gaze, he handed it over.
Looking at the application to release the Lu family, Director Xu’s expression turned complicated. He understood what Deputy Director Huang understood.
But—
Seeing him hesitate, Deputy Director Huang made a few hand gestures. Director Xu immediately smiled.
Soon, the documents were approved, and Deputy Director Huang left happily with them.
Easy money.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingqing waited near the Revolutionary Committee. When she saw her family being escorted out, supporting each other, she finally relaxed.
As long as her family was safely released first, everything else would be easy.
She quickly stepped forward and asked, “Grandpa, Dad, Mom, brothers and sister-in-law—did they make things difficult for you?”
“No, everything went smoothly,” her grandfather said, holding her hand tightly. “It’s just that you’ve suffered.”
Lu Qingqing chuckled. “Grandpa, what are you saying? Let’s go home first.”
“Yes, yes, let’s go home.”
The family walked back in a relaxed mood.
At home, the sister-in-law took the children to bathe, while Lu Qingqing sat in the living room with her grandfather, parents, and three brothers to discuss matters.
“Grandpa, you should go first. You don’t need to bring much—we’ll follow soon.”
“Are you really going down to the countryside?” her grandfather asked reluctantly. “I can arrange a job for you so you can stay in the city.”
Lu Qingqing shook her head firmly. “No. I must go. I won’t feel at ease unless I see you all safe.”
“Besides, if I’m the only one left in the city, wouldn’t it be easier for them to target me?”
Her grandfather fell silent.
Her mother worriedly said, “That makes sense, but life in the countryside is very hard. You’ll have to do a lot of farm work…”
“Mother, am I someone who can’t endure hardship?” Lu Qingqing looked at her. “If you all can endure it, why can’t I?”
“Besides, without me, it won’t be convenient for you to buy anything. Even if you have money, it’ll be hard to spend it.”